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P&D is going to love all that fat on the woodwork... I've got some small finger trowels and various bits of plastic I've collected for those really annoying bit. Best finish is to remove the architrave but that looks like 1930 stuff so its going to be very dry and brittle and a shite to find a...

Sounds about right. Its easier to price that sort of thing by time 2-3 hours?, id stick another 30 on and call it a 1/2 day.

Im not fat Im just big boned.... (but dont tell spunky) Given practice you too could learn to flatten and polish with a bacon butty in your left hand. I might drop a few pounds rendering for a living, but skimming nah.

Ta. Can't find "Render Sand" around here - must be a regional thing, The nearest TP is miles away but I'll grab some plastering sand from the b&q warehouse, only need 50kgs.

Very quick and simple one. I've always used sharp sand for rendering ( admittedly mostly patch work) doing a larger garden wall yesterday and I just couldn't get it to rub up, I kept catching pebbles in the sharp sand and dragging them. Very annoying. I've given up and just scratched it up to...

Cheers guys. Sounds way over and above what I can do for him. I'll tell him to get it sorted properly.

I'll keep it short. Garden wall - retaining. 16ft x 5ft, back skin concrete block, front cheap and nasty facing bricks which have blown capped with blues on their side. Wall can't be more than 10 years old. Chap wants it rendered as its ugly as hell. Not sure if theres a drainage problem...

No brainer this. Id love to add home owners or DIY enthusiasts to the list.

Its front of house so it needs to be reasonable ... mind you anything would be better than the tat I took off. I'll try a weak thin coat and see how it sits, not doing anything until after the cold snap buggers off though, phucking cold in the wind today.

Little help here ... Got a dividing wall to render, its up steps and varies from 1 course to 7 courses high, 10ft long max - single brick with ridgeback coping 114mm wide on top, obviously I want to keep the render under the lip of the coping. Should I put on a very thin scratch then a really...

"No comment" from the kitchen fitters ... sorry scaffold company. Good job no-one was up there at the time, bet the bloke from claims direct is going to be busy.

I like the Wickes patching plaster for chases - the stuff in 10Kg bags, really can get away with blue murder with it.

It was a 4ft chase on a cooker cable, for a regular. I wasn't too pleased about it either supposed to be a 15minute cash job. Council round here are using up their budget painting the fooking roads red with that stupid tarmac - causing a nightmare at school run / rush hour time.

Were the boards skimmed ? Seen DIY artex to cover bad DIY skimming or even no skimming. Think i prefer wood chip ;D

Been said so many times before - but don't move on the price (especially not by nearly 30%!!!) it encourages people to take the pi$$. Id have left it when doors weren't boarded. Hard thing to do but if you dont you'll end up running about for sod all cash. Certainly wouldnt be in any hurry to go...

Not less damage if you catch one no - but less likely to cause the damage in the first place. Each to their own - but Id rather put 1 hole in and know where 2 joists are than randomly poke lots of holes into a void hoping the resistance is a joist and not a gas pipe.

I hate breaking into the ceiling - so may sparks and plumbers just chuck their gear on the boards now and dont clip them, you've only got to touch a plastic pipe with something sharp and it start pi$$in everywhere. I like to use a down light cutter, slightly messier but give me more control if...

Im with pftmonojetman ... wet work all the way if the customer will part with the extra.

Must remember that the next time someone wants the wall with the boiler pipes on skimming. Are your it was standard matt ? I've seen this happen with vynil matt but that usually peels rather than coming off clean. Your going to be in a mess if the paint comes of the plaster regardless of what...

I found it very useful to rig up a board to 'play' with in the beginning. If you want to see how / why / when you do something (like PVAing very dry hardwall) slap some hardwall on the board, leave it 3-4 days and try and skim it. It should take you about a foot to answer the question :-)

Should have told him it was pebble dash then :)

Only 6mm .... did you get the builders business card. !!! I figured out how you sorted it - you stuck your caps lock key under the board didn't you !

"Can you plaster the top half to cover the wires but dont put as much on the bottom or the units wont fit in." Probably not nice to have laughed at her - but I couldn't help myself.

I see and do a lot of work like this.... sometimes I'd give my right arm (well my left anyway) for a nice straight boarded wall. Patching the 8inch strip is just like filling a big chase - bread and butter job. Making good round the doorway depends on how picky the customer is. Always nicer/...

The car park will ease a lot of the ball ache. Id save judgment on the greed until you've removed the plaster. Mind you - Im still piss poor at ceilings, so what do I know :) I've never managed to get one boarded out on my own either - seem to need 1 more hand, I've always paid the lad a beer...

If you're dropping the L&p you'll have to get rid off it too. Need a skip? wheres that going to go? Bagging its a PITA can you chuck the laths in a garden and put a match to them. 2 Days - skip & mats. Id be looking for more than 450 TBH horrible job.

Bond it... I did a hall/stairs just before Xmas with textured paint - slapped the first coat of multi on good and thick to fill it, then topped it off. When it pulled up you could still see the texture in the multi - but not the paint underneath. Had to top it twice more to get a nice finish -...

In an ideal world, maybe even on site. Domestic, if it falls off its gonna be the chap who did the "plastering" fault. Their sparks is going back in tomorrow to move a few sockets. I'll see what its like after hes clobbered it with the bolster a bit.

Evening all. Went to see about skimming a kitchen today. The chap has already DnD the boards on, not too badly to be honest some are even flat !! but he's only put *VERY* thin dabs of adhesive on - its 12mm board. Theres no movement in the boards but Id say he's used less than 1/2 the muck I...

This is one of those could be anything questions.... 1. Messing with it too soon. 2. 2nd coating too soon. 3. Pressing too hard. 4. Trowel at the wrong angle. The best description I've seen for when to trowel it up is when its cheesy, catch it too soon and your trowel wont sound right... hard...

Ta lad. I'll stick with it - just be a little more careful.

I've been trying for a while to find an easy way round these. I always get the rad taken off but normally they want it back in the same place. Removed the brackets & bolts - tends to fill the holes. Removed the bracket and leave the bolts 1/2 out. - I can't get a good stroke keep catching my...

spasticated - here too, even more than usual ;D And II've got a few blisters . FWIW I've had a couple of calls from plumbers today about patchin up and skimming after burst pipes. Anyone sitting on their hands It might be worth a call to your local spanner waggler see if theres anything going.

Just a thought - if you normally only do walls you'll be at a un-natural angle with your trowel, if its not well used it might be catching and dragging. Check its clean and you've not got a thin film of dry finish in patches on it either. Did you knock the second coat up in a clean bucket ...

nothing to do with dogging - sorry Church ;D I've split the last of my flexitubs this week - Thats the 3rd since late November. Anyone recommend a brand that last more than a week? I don't mind paying for a "gorilla tub" if is worth the extra, but it also cheaper to use a bucket and chuck it...

Left the ceiling as it was sound and he didn't want to spend the cash. Cut all the walls back to brick - hardwalled 3 coats - all keyed. Let it sit overnight. PVA it cos it was sucking like bitch. 2 coats of skim nice and flat. Gave it a little polish round the light switch to make it silky for...

Exactly if the wall is small enough to do it may be just as cost effective to steam the artex and the distemper off, scrap it back and just skim on the original plaster. (H&S issues aside)

Sounds like it - Its hard to tell from the picture if its just the artex though. How old is the property. Can you see any reason why paint would have peeled just in that spot ? You could try the wall paper steamer but Id worry about blowing the plaster behind off.

Just cleaned a very hard thin film off mine with patio cleaner and a sheet of wet & dry - I guess its the same effect as brick acid but its at a lower concentrate and less aggro. It had been catching all day and doing my head in so I wasn't too fussed if it trashed it.

ta both. I've not price it yet - I warned him about the distemper causing problems. Time seems to be the main issue, pulling the lot down is going to make it a really tight job. Going to have to work like a bluearse fly - and get covered in crap from pulling the l&p / s&c down. Will see how...

Trying to get a bit of beer money in during the hols - I've found myself a nightmare. 7ftx8ft room. 3 x walls S&C patches missing back to brick and skim coat missing in patches up to around 4ft - the rest sounds blown, tried cutting patches back and the whole lot crumbles. 1 x wall lath &...

Speaking of arches ... this one adjoins "Satans own Ceiling"   :'( I was going to freehand it but I wonder now if its worth getting an arch kit ?  I've only got 2 inches of depth before the door frame and attaching anything to the brick work is a right royal pain in the butt. Thoughts. ?

Best not to leave huge streaks but theres nothing wrong with a little fat  :D Depending on how / when the wall is painted, the paint could pull the fat off the wall, equally annoying though are highly polished areas, these cause the paint to skid. If you put on a 50/50 emulsion/water mix on...

You should always try for the perfect finish but dont expect it :) If its nearly perfect some things can be easily fixed - (Ill probably get shot for this but .... ) Misses and pockets can be fixed with a wipe of filler, fat and water marks can be hidden with a misscoat. Things you wont be...

I tried again today ... wish I hadnt. Id got half a bag of wickes one coat thought it might make things easier..... BIG MISTAKE. Looks like a blind man with one arm stood and sneezed plaster at it. >:( Horrible stuff. I'll pick some more multi up tomorrow. I tried it a little slower this time...

I should preface this with Im not a full time spread, but over the last few years I've done a bit of domestic on the side for beer money.  ;) Im happy enough on walls but normally I avoid ceilings - Ive not done one yet I've been pleased with. As this was my hall I thought Id make use of the...